Leg Swelling

What causes leg swelling?

Leg swelling is an issue that has numerous potential causes. For example, your leg might swell if you injure it or if you have a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis). These types of acute problems typically affect one leg and are often painful. 

If your leg swelling affects both legs, the most likely cause is fluid buildup, or edema.

The problem begins with poorly functioning valves in the leg veins. These valves should form a seal that allows blood to flow back to your heart and prevents any blood from going down your legs. If the valves weaken or get damaged, gravity allows blood to flow backward and pool in your veins.

The pooling blood increases pressure inside your veins, which stretches the veins so they start leaking fluid into the surrounding tissues. The result is leg swelling.

What symptoms does leg swelling cause?

At first, leg swelling is often painless, but as pressure builds up, you might begin to experience symptoms such as:

• Aching
• Cramping
• Tired legs
• Pain
• Heaviness
• Restless legs
• Itching

Without treatment, leg swelling can lead to infections and leg ulcers, or painful open wounds. AMI Surgery can help prevent these complications and restore healthy circulation to your legs. 

How is leg swelling treated?

If your leg swelling is mild, compression stockings can be very helpful. They squeeze your legs just enough to stop blood from pooling and keep it flowing in the right direction. 

Making changes to your lifestyle can also be helpful. For instance, getting regular exercise and avoiding standing or sitting for long periods improves your circulation.

Being overweight or obese is also damaging to your blood vessels. If you’re struggling to lose weight, AMI Surgery can help with medical weight loss programs and weight loss surgery.

If you have an underlying venous disease that’s causing your leg swelling, you might need to undergo endovenous laser or radiofrequency ablation treatment.

What minimally invasive treatments help with leg swelling?

Endovenous laser therapy and radiofrequency ablation are minimally invasive treatments for circulatory conditions like chronic venous insufficiency or venous reflux.

Both treatments use heat energy to collapse the walls of the problem veins. When blood can’t travel along the treated vein, it automatically finds the next best vein to use. 

The treated vein then withers and disappears. As your circulation improves, the leg swelling goes away.

If you have leg swelling, don’t wait for it to become a more serious issue. Call AMI Surgery or book an appointment online today.